Gaming

Nissan and Microsoft are getting set to unveil a concept car with an in-dash Xbox 360, according to Ars Technica and other sources. Should the vehicle ever make it to the pavement, we really, really hope it's true that game-playing only activates when the car's in park.

The car, called the Nissan Urge, lets drivers use the steering wheel and pedals to play Microsoft's "Project Gotham Racing 3" on a 7-inch LCD screen that folds down from the roof where the rear-view mirror is normally positioned. PGR 3 takes players on speedy chases through the … Read more

Two owners of a Los Angeles game store and a third man face up to five years in prison on charges filed Monday in a federal copyright infringement case for selling modified Xbox game consoles, prosecutors said. The modifications allowed the machines to play pirated video games, they said.

The three men are being accused of "conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement," in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central … Read more

It seems that the online virtual world "Second Life" is no place hackers and other digital vandals should take lightly when considering who to hit with denial-of-service attacks.

That much became clear this week, according to the blog Second Life Herald, when Philip Rosedale, CEO of "Second Life" publisher Linden Lab, announced during a virtual holiday party in the open-ended digital world that he had turned the perpetrators of a series of grid crashes over to the FBI.

Apparently, "Second Life" had been struck multiple times by attacks this week and prior and Rosedale … Read more

If you happen to be one of the many Xbox 360 game console owners unlucky enough not to have a high-definition TV, you may find that your new copy of "Peter Jackson's King Kong" doesn't look quite next-generation.

And it's not just you. The BBC News reported Wednesday that "King Kong" publisher Ubisoft told it that the company had inadvertently neglected to notice that the game, when played on an Xbox 360--it is also available for PCs, the original Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube--and viewed on a standard television, … Read more

At around 9 a.m. Friday, a nondescript white van pulled over and parked on Second Street in San Francisco. To anyone outside, it just looked like something a young couple might travel around in.

In fact, the inside of the van was a gamer's fantasy (click here to watch video): a collection of nearly everything Nintendo is promoting for the holidays, including its latest games, its Wi-Fi-enabled Nintendo DS handheld game console, and several GameCubes.

And the point: to woo journalists into the van and ply them with the best Nintendo has to offer.

The so-called Holiday Media … Read more

As a professional game designer, Heather Kelley is no doubt used to facing difficult challenges put to her by her bosses. But, according to Boing Boing, one she recently undertook on her own may have a much broader effect than anything she ever did for Ubisoft, her employer.

"I wanted to design a game that would improve actual sex in the world, and for an underserved population," Kelley wrote on her Web site. "In other words, I want my game to teach techniques of female sexual gratification to a target audience of females."

Her idea was … Read more

If the $300 price tag for Microsoft's new Xbox 360 game console seems steep to you, just wait til you get the electric bill.

The new gaming system, which has topped holiday gift lists since its Nov. 22 retail debut, is "obscenely power hungry," according to Will Greenwald, a CNET product reviewer.

Using special testing equipment, Will and his review team found that the machine draws about 160 watts of power, more than twice as much as the original version and double rivals' systems. That puts the Xbox 360 ahead of most other home entertainment devices in … Read more

Coming to a beverage aisle near you: the "Final Fantasy XII" potion. Square Enix, maker of the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, says it will team with Japanese drink maker Suntory to concoct an energizing brew timed with the March 16 release of "Final Fantasy XII" in Japan.

According to a story on 1up.com, the drink will come in blue crystal-themed bottles and will bear the taste of various mystery herbs. A few swigs may or may not help you accumulate hit points.

View pics of the potion at Gamebrink.com.

Parents concerned about the kind of material their children are exposed to should be resting a little easier today.

All Headline News reported that Sony has decided to implement parental controls on its next-generation video game console, PlayStation 3.

That device is expected to hit North American shores (and stores) in the fall of 2006. It appears it will have some sort of toggle to enable parents to restrict which games their children play by using the Entertainment Software Association's rating system.

All Headline News has written that Microsoft has already implemented such a parental control system for the … Read more